Neil Young & Crazy Horse-Reactor (1981)
Format: LP
Cat #: HS 2304
Year of Release: 1981
Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 1981 Winchester Pressing
Listed Condition: VG+/G+ drill cut, spine wear, original inner sleeve great shape
Sell Date: 1/12/21
Sell Price:$3.99
Discogs Last Sold: 12/23/20 M/VG+ $11.17
Low: $2.97
Median: $6.49
High: $13.68
Current low price: $1.50 VG+/VG+
Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 187
Have/Want: 5156/187
Where Sold: Philadelphia, PA
Time it took to sell: 5 years
Where and When Bought: Al Bums Worcester new cut out $3
Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: B+
Sad To See It Go: No
Coming between the revered Rust Never Sleeps and the reviled Geffen years of the 80's, Reactor or re ac tor if you want to pull semantics, was ignored in many ways. It did fine on the American charts peaking at #27 on Billboard at the end of 1981. This 80's Geffen period was so hated that when the El Dorado EP came out slightly before Freedom, it was hailed as an unrivaled proto-grunge masterwork.
But was it? There were hints of the lumbering flannel majesty on Rust Never Sleeps but that was tempered by some serious acoustic laden songs. Reactor seems more of a toss off, with the Horsettes singing their way into your heart behind Neil. Neil will NEVER be an "Opera Star" and the Horsettes damn well prove it with their jarring choral obliterations that fit so well in "My My Hey Hey" a couple years prior. His sold car ode "Motor City" is gorgeous in it's ragged glory. "T-Bone" lumbers along in almost 10 minute splendor. None of this could be called "pop."
So yeah, this is tough hitless Neil unless you want to count "Rapid Transit," the first Canadian stutter since Randy Bachman went to number one with "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet." It's shocking that this is the 80's and doesn't suck production wise, but 1981 was still far away from the MTV-aesthetic anti-rock horrors of 1983 imposed on the music world throughout the decade. The guitars roar and rumble as you would expect Crazy Horse to do a decade later.
My copy was what I used to jokingly refer to as "instant cut out." These were often top 50 albums coming off top 10 ones, overpressed and unloved. They did sell, but disappointingly. That Reprise let Neil go into the clutches of David Geffen meant unlimited artistic control, but it seems like he had it at Reprise also and went back to where he came at the end of the decade. Geffen actually took Neil to court mid-contract for not being commercial enough while he fulfilled his contract. Trans actually charted higher off the bat, peaking at #19. They obviously hadn't listened to Reactor.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Exhibit A.
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